Mark your calendars because the SHADES Sex Carnival is right around the corner. This upcoming Saturday, Feb. 18 from 7-9 p.m. in Old Union Hall, SHADES will be hosting its seventh-annual Sex Carnival.

SHADES is an organization that prioritizes creating a good environment for LGBTQ+ students of color, according to Sheyla Santana Escoto, president of SHADES and a senior majoring in history. But the organization is not exclusive to LGBTQ+ students of color, and everyone is encouraged to attend regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality.

The upcoming Sex Carnival will feature 16 different campus organizations that will be hosting a variety of fun games and activities. These groups include the Women’s Student Union, the Q Center, the Rainbow Pride Union, the Latin American Student Union, the Black Student Union and the Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society.

SHADES and its collaborators will be hosting a variety of activities for students to take part in. There will be a drag show, student competitions, games and a photo booth.

“[There will be] activities allowing everyone to win raffle tickets for a chance to win self-care and sex toy prizes,” Escoto wrote in an email.

The Sex Carnival is the final event of the “Love, SHADES” series that the group has been spearheading since the end of January. The series of events included speed dating and sex trivia, which was in collaboration with the Planned Parenthood Generation Action chapter at Binghamton.

Through events like the “Love, SHADES” Series, the group aims to create a positive environment, according to the club’s president.

“SHADES hopes to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ students of color,” Escoto wrote in an email. “[We also want to] acknowledge the importance of safe sex practices in our communities.”

Both of these are very important goals to strive for. According to a June 2020 survey conducted by the Center for American Progress (CAP) and NORC at the University of Chicago, 36 percent of LGBTQ+ people of color reported that they avoided doctors’ offices in order to avoid discrimination. Additionally, the CDC estimates that people between the ages of 15 and 24 accounted for almost half of all of the new sexually transmitted infections that occurred in the United States during 2018. On top of this, Hartford Healthcare claims that approximately one in four college students have a sexually transmitted infection.

SHADES aims to raise awareness for such problems in a way that can be fun.

“We want to make sure everyone is comfortable and having fun,” Escoto wrote in an email. “I want people to know that this event is from SHADES with love.”

With fun and entertainment being placed at the forefront of the event, it’s no wonder that the SHADES Sex Carnival is going on its seventh year. The group is looking to strike the right balance between education and entertainment, and seems to have done just that.

The SHADES Sex Carnival is fast approaching, so those interested should be sure to grab tickets soon. SHADES will be tabling in the Glenn G. Bartle Library this upcoming Thursday, Feb. 16, where they’ll be selling tickets for $12 each. Tickets can also be reached by contacting SHADES on Instagram @SHADES.bing. On the day of, tickets for the Sex Carnival will be sold at the door for $15.